Heart of Gazelle and Humanity

by The Imperator 2 you

With all hope lost Humanity places its final hope in the souls of those frozen in time. While excavating a tunnel, a team of Mammals going about their business discovers a relic of millennia past, and an ancient species thought mythical and legend. Yet of all eggs discovered only 1 survives. Can Humanity be redeemed for the sins of its past, in the future it cannot control?

40. Chapter 34

I've been losing myself in anger, so much broken by the rage…

Nothing can take my mind off how to make them pay!

Killing myself for nothing, and the pay wont go away…

Losing myself to madness and the games been played…

If I could turn… the hands of time… I would… but here I am…

Tell me why am I still here when it's all gone?

I'm living with the ghost of yesterday!

Tell me why am I still trying to hold on?

Gotta tear it down, and let it go…

= Location: Unknown, Seventy-four days after Ironic War=

(?'s PoV)

["Alright, I've boosted the signal… as much as I can… and… and transferred all power being fed from the surface into… uh… into the… uh…"]

[Communications Channel opened, all frequencies established, if any human or facility within range of the signal receives the transmission, they will be able to respond simply by realigning their communications frequencies to ours. After that, we can establish communications with them.]

["Yea, that… ya… now we just… need a message, right?"]

[Yes. You may proceed at your discretion.]

["Right… Is anyone out there… please… respond…"]

Chapter 34 = The Degraded Outpost Signal

=Present Time, Zootopia, three weeks after 'final' assassination attempt of Jeremy=

(Jeremy's PoV)

He tapped a data pad that he was using to monitor the various data that the drones were sending him, specifically the data regarding how they were handling the test runs he was running them through. So far nothing out of the ordinary, aside from the usual quirks that comes from new drone models being designed and tested. Smiling, satisfied that he'd learned all he needed to, he signaled Aelita to prepare gathering data from the drones for the last test.

"Alright Aelita, let's do this!" He told her.

Aelita nodded as she appeared on his visor's HUD and pulled up the other four drones specs, each one responded and were standing by.

"Attention, this is our final trial run, so let's make it count!"

"Got it!"

"Ready when you are."

[All systems on standby!]

"Aelita, give us a good luck song."

She nodded and pulled up a memory cube, flung it at him, before pulling out an electric guitar and started playing to the tune.

Outside of his small pod he had his drone stand up to its full twelve feet in height, his drone being a new breed of Spider drones, the GSC class drone, or Grass Spider Construction class drone. While similar to the General-Purpose Goliath Spider class drone, the GSC drones were built for construction rather than general purpose rescue drones. Their legs were about a third as wide but twice as long as the GPGS drones, the legs also were split into two groups, the center four were able to extend and use various tools including special chainsaws and welders, grappling claws and cutting scissors.

The internal pods were designed to display visual screens of their surroundings, so to Jeremy he looked like he was in the middle of a salvage dump, or a 'junkyard/scrapyard' according to the mammals. Alongside him four other spider drones began to move into position as they walked over to a massive truck. Their test run was simple, disassemble it without breaking the drones.

(Take the path of least resistance… to the great unknown~! No directory assistance, now you're on your own!)

He signaled to two of the drones to lift up the vehicle while he and the other two drones would dig into the truck from underneath. He activated the cutting tool on his leg and gripped a section of the drive section underneath and began cutting away portions of the pipes while the other two did the same. Sparks began flying as the sound of metal drilling and being cut away sounded

(If you're looking for a new world, just open up your eyes… because it's…)

He sliced his piece away and pulled it out, examined it before placing it on the ground to begin working on another section.

(Not. Quite. Paradise! But it sure feels like home…)

They began drilling into the engine section now, and just as he finished separating another section of the drive pipes, a portion of the it's under side slid out and smacked his drone's body.

"Ooof!" He muttered as that sure hit his head.

"You alright Jermy?"

"I'm fine… good thing I'm in this drone…"

It was a good thing indeed, as that would have fractured his skull for sure.

(Not quite paradise… we can rent to own. It'll be all right, no it's not quite paradise!)

After a few more seconds they began dissecting the truck's engine, and once it had been dragged out, they separated it and began slicing into the interior to remove the unnecessary items, such as the seating, dashboard, and other things so that only the shell skeleton would remain.

"Okay looking good, let's do the final test!" He said as they ripped the last pieces of inside furniture out.

They separated and began lowering the skeleton, unfortunately one of the legs of the drones malfunctioned and let go of the skeletal frame, causing it to fall on top of his drone, 'again'.

"Like I said… good thing I'm in this drone." Jeremy said as he lifted the frame off himself.

"Sorry, something happened, and it let go."

(Tomorrow's an illusion, yesterday's a dream, today is a solution… but you've got to let it be!) Aelita sang with an amused laugh.

"Alright I think that's as much data as I'm going to get now!" He said as he backed up. "Thanks Aelita for all your help."

She smiled as she bowed and disappeared from the visor's hud, allowing him to disable the interior of the drone and lower it to ground level so that he could exit it. It bent backward so that a slit opened beneath his legs, allowing him to climb out and stand up, before it raised itself up and let him exit from the rest of the body. At the same time the mammals who were piloting the other drones began leaving 'their' drones as well, some of them having a little more difficulty than others.

"These things are really complicated to run." A badger said as he tapped his drone's leg.

"But you have to admit, they make great work and time chopping cars up!" A mole said as he admired the handiwork.

"Yea, normally it takes us a day to chop a car down to the skeleton, with these things we did four in half the time!"

[We are pleased to be of assistance!] The drones responded in a high-pitched tone.

"Yea but they need way more work before they're anywhere 'near' ready for service." Jeremy muttered as he looked at his data. "Servos aren't responding properly all the time, power distribution for the legs drops randomly, and during cutting I noticed some of the drones had reduced efficiency. If that happens again but in a serious setting, then the drone might malfunction and injure the pilot if an accident happens."

[Do you have further orders for us?] One of the drones asked, turning to him.

"Not at this time, all of you return to Eden Facility 17 and power down." He told them. "Link up with Sentinel and follow the path it gives you, once you arrive power down at the allocated spaces assigned to you and await further orders."

[As you command!] They declared in unison, and began leaving the site, marching in single file as they headed to their destination.

Jeremy sighed as he looked back at his datapad and examined the data on the construction of these drones. The new GSC Drones were a new design of drones built from a combination of human drone design and technology and mammal materials. At first, he figured it would be 'easy' to build drones outside of the confines of the facility, the difference in technology levels however made it quickly obvious that there would be troubles.

First the response times between computer components the mammals had and what his facility had access to were vastly different. The same thing was said when talking about other components, despite being somewhat familiar they were just vastly inferior at the moment, resulting in the drones feeling extremely clunky and slow to perform tasks. The response times as well to commands, even simple ones, vastly demonstrated how far behind the mammals were compared to human tech from Jeremy's time.

He tested this with the slowest responding drone design he could find, the GPGS Drones, who responded to his inquiries, who even when faced with a complex problem, were able to solve the puzzle in a fraction of the time the GSC Drones did.

Their complex task provided them was a basic test of problem solving, move a metal ball through a simple and small maze situated on a slope into a goal slot without them actually touching it using their bodies, while using what was available to them in the cave. To solve it, they were given random items ranging from pipes, claws, scoops, rods and a sheet of metal while he watched them from the sidelines.

After three minutes of examining the puzzle and their options, the GPGS Drones asked him to move the ball for them, and he obliged, as that was the fastest way to solve it that they'd concluded.

The GSC Drones, however, took almost an 'hour' to use the tools provided to them as they slowly moved the ball into the goal post.

Mixing the two levels of technology was tricky he concluded, and while he was trying to make them work, he knew that the best way to help them out was to let mammal technology move on its own pace with inspiration from his technology, not trying to shortcut it.

"Still at least they work, so its not 'impossible' it is just going to be tricky getting them both to work together." He said. "Alright, thank you very much for helping me test the drones once again! I have more work to do back at my Eden Facility."

"See you again Jeremy!" One of them shouted as he walked away and was swiftly joined by his RAPTOR drone escort.

"Drone, ETA?"

[Solar Carriage One ETA, one minute and four seconds!]

"Right on time." He chuckled.

As he headed to the street he saw, right on cue, his Solar Carriage being tugged by the two HORSE drones and Lula hop out with a pleased expression on her face, followed by Gazelle. "Hey Jeremy, I got the job offer!" Lula said happily.

"That's wonderful, well you 'will' have it once I've gotten the drones working properly." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh yea, that needs to happen first." She laughed back.

"Thank you again for accepting my friend's request Jeremy, I was afraid you might have said no when she came with the offer!" Gazelle said as she kissed him on the cheek.

That was also why he was making them, Gazelle's friend, Vesuvia Galora the financial entrepreneur had arrived in Zootopia after an extended business trip to approach Jeremy with an offer. She wanted to tap into the potential market for Jeremy's drones, having seen what they are capable of just going off the GPGS Drones, and wanted to try and create some 'mammal' drones to sell around the world.

Jeremy at first was extremely hesitant, not wanting to share drone construction technology for fear of how it could be misused, but Gazelle and Vesuvia talked to him about it and a few proposals and assurances were made. The first was that Jeremy's facility would be the only place they could construct them. The second being that the drones would only be for 'civilian' service, strictly rejecting any potential for military service. Finally, she would hand select a team of mammals to help work on them, mainly constructing and maintaining them, and they would live inside the confines of Eden Facility 17. She explained that worldwide, Jeremy's drones are extremely viable in terms of difficult tasks and potentially dangerous jobs that most mammals and even governments simply aren't willing to or able to handle as effectively or efficiently as drones are. One example was where he was leaving, how mammals handled their 'junk' and 'scrap' in terms of materials or vehicles.

When Vesuvia toured the facility, she marveled at how clean and how easily the base converted otherwise useless junk, such as a metal toaster she brought to demonstrate, and turned it into salvageable and useable components and materials. Jeremy showed her in their chamber how the ANT drones converted the toaster, in one hour, into a pile of materials and components that could be used and allocated for whatever project he may have in mind. Nothing was wasted, if it even had a 'shred' of potential use or viability, they saved it for later use.

She wanted to invest and tap into that potential market before it even existed, and after hearing her case, he agreed. But only after he developed a drone line that didn't rely on materials from the facility. Despite how big the facility was and the resources it had, they were still 'limited', and most, if not all, could not be replicated as the base lacked the facilities needed to produce the end products, such as the materials constituting the Solar Carriage's outer exterior shell, itself coming from the remains of the SCORPIO drone the AI Alexander inhabited.

Hence why he pulled up a more archaic, but also easily producible Spider Drone line, in the GSC drones. Lula, having had firsthand experience in the base and learning how the drones worked, operated, and how they were constructed to an extent thanks to Jeremy, had applied to get, and now gotten, a job maintaining and helping produce these drones. It would be a while before the arrangements would be completed, but Jeremy was happy to be doing something like this.

"Well, as long as the drones aren't misused for their intended purpose, I think we can work on what drones we can allow be produced here." He said. "Of course, the drones need to be perfected first, at the moment the prototypes aren't exactly the best, and they still need way more work. They are nothing like the drones in my base at the moment."

"You're telling us, we saw one of them accidentally walk into a wall before it corrected itself." Gazelle chuckled. "And since they were playing 'follow the leader' the ones after also bumped into the wall before following after."

"Ugh… even after downgrading them to Category 1.9 they're still struggling." He muttered. "They just don't have the computer power needed to run Human AI category levels. Any lower and they'll need an external AI to manage them like the ANT drones."

"Hmhmhm well, shall we get going home then?" Gazelle asked, to which they said yes.

Lula hopped back into the main seating section while he and Gazelle sat in their 'private' section in the back. As the carriage moved on, their first destination being Eden Facility 17 to drop of Lula, he and Gazelle sat leaning against one another in silence, simply relaxing and enjoying the quiet ride.

After his 'final' assassination attempt, Jeremy had stayed out of the public spotlight until recently, just feeling tired of the constant attacks and wanting to be left alone. Gazelle even invited her four backup dancers to work full time as bodyguards at her home just to keep mammals from trying to peak in and look at him or talk to him. After being targeted by Kassandra for months, being used by Celios the drone, dealing with public imagery and everything else that came from being a 'legendary species' and 'the last of his kind' had finally caught up to him, and he just couldn't take it anymore.

He and Gazelle just wanted some peace and quiet, so when her next singing performance was scheduled, she offered to let him stay home, but he went because he loved her and wouldn't let his wish to be left alone stop him from watching her perform and do what she loved.

She performed live on stage to applause and adoration, and for at least that day, he was calm and happy and even forgot about his problems, and slowly after that he began to return to the public life after Vesuvia talked to him about her ideas and proposal.

(Enter Gazelle's PoV)

"Jeremy?" Gazelle whispered quietly.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Anything you'd like to do tonight?"

"Nothing in particular, I just want to have a nice quiet evening with you Gazelle."

She glanced at him before leaning into him and sweetly whispering back, "Just what I had in mind too…" while planting her lips on his and pulling him into a slow and loving kiss between them.

They stayed like that for a while as the carriage went around heading to their destinations, first to the facility to let Lula out, and then making its way to Gazelle's home. Once there, Gazelle's friends opened the door to the carriage, and they went inside. Once inside Moe and Joe who had been on 'night watch' for that day bid them good night and decided to sit in the carriage so that he and she could have their privacy for the night.

Since the attempt on his life, Gazelle had extra security cameras and even hired a third-party security firm to handle 24-hour surveillance to watch her home, including asking her friends to help keep paparazzi away. As they walked in, they were greeted by a small mechanical drone of Jeremy's design, given to Gazelle as a gift.

The drone was an oversized ANT drone that served her home as a constant cleaning unit, night or day, it would go around the house and clean whatever it was that needed cleaning. It primarily sucked up dust and dumped it in the trash, cleaned windows or even her television, and finally vacuumed the carpets and scrubbed the kitchen floor leaving everything smelling fresh.

He'd come up with it as his way of 'helping around the house' so Gazelle didn't have to do it with or without his help.

It also was connected to the ACC ai in Eden Facility 17, so it constantly received updates and commands regarding what it was being tasked to do.

The drone itself was about nine inches long, four inches wide, walked on six narrow robotic legs with a triple segmented main body. The Abdomen which served as the power charging unit, the torso which is where it stored all the dust, dirt, grime and whatever else it stored before dumping it, and finally a head that had various tools which it slid in or out of its mouth to meet the situation's needs.

The drone itself scuttled around the floor, quickly getting out of their way before resuming its duty.

On its back written was the word 'Aunt', which was Gazelle's nickname for it, 'Aunt the Ant' because it reminded her of her aunt who would often clean things up despite being a guest.

"Thank you again Jeremy for making that drone for us here." Gazelle said as she took her things off and began pulling down the blinds. "It keeps things so clean around here, it's nice to know I'm coming to a home that's always tidy."

"I figured you'd like it." He chuckled.

After that they sat on the couch with Aelita the AI choosing to let them have their 'quiet time', staying upstairs in their shared bedroom, the two of them relaxed into the comforts of the couch to watch a nice movie of Gazelle's choosing.

"So, what are we watching?" He asked as she handled the remote.

"I picked a nice quiet romantic movie, about a strapping young Cheetah, a wandering warrior in ancient times… 'our' ancient times…" She chuckled. "Who is on a journey to regain his honor that was wrongfully stolen, and along the way he meets a beautiful Panther assassin, sent by his enemies to eliminate him. After many encounters, the two talk to one another… and eventually fall in love, working together to achieve their now united goal…"

"Oh, nothing 'futuristic tonight?"

"I figured you'd like the change of pace, you know, considering what you think of as 'advanced'."

He nodded as she cuddled up with him and they began watching their movie. It was a slow progressing movie in terms of the plot, but it was as she said, a slow building romance action movie.

It started out with a straightforward plotline, a male Cheetah who served as a loyal soldier in his nation's army, but after a secret plot is uncovered regarding the ruling family, the army unit he was serving with is all killed off and his entire family is implicated and framed, but he survives.

As the movie progresses, he makes his way to the capital to tear down the regime and bring light to the wrong that was brought upon him and serve justice. Finding out he survived, his enemies sent a lethal assassin to kill him, one they assumed who had unquestionable loyalty to them, the 'daughter' of the king who had been trained in the art of killing.

However, after failing to kill him, revealing the truth to her, and even showing the proof, she renounces her claim and her family name to the throne to join him in bringing about the end of her own family. After hiding and thwarting various attempts to stop them, they spend a quiet night with each other before the final confrontation.

There, they gazed upon each other, a soldier and his would-be assassin, began falling in love with one another. Knowing that what was to come may very well be their last day alive, they chose to spend their last night in each other's arms so that they would at least have a happy memory to die with.

As he and Gazelle watched the movie progress, they drew closer and closer to one another until every so often they were sharing a loving peck on the cheek. Gazelle had her arm wrapped around him, and he around her. Sometimes she would just rub her cheek against his, smiling when he planted a kiss on her cheek and smirking as she returned the favor. Then as the movie reached its conclusion, the two of them began ignoring it as she pulled him on top of her and they just focused on making out with one another.

As far as the world was concerned, she and Jeremy were tied together, and they weren't changing that any time soon.

As the ending credits began playing Jeremy finally pulled away from Gazelle to her smiling face, "So Jeremy, how did you like the movie?"

"Oh, I liked it… especially the ending." He muttered.

"Mhmmm I knew you would… so how about we keep this ending going for a little while longer?"

"I like that idea…" He said as he leaned back and started getting friskier with her.

Gazelle felt her lover's lips upon his and began to tighten her grip on his body. She had already kept track of her estrus cycle, and her next one was approaching, but she had a little over a month before it would arrive. Until then her body would have to wait, both for it to arrive and for Ema to complete her research so that she and Jeremy could try again to have children.

But that didn't mean, she thought as she smirked, that she couldn't 'practice' with him 'before' her estrus cycle came around.

While she gripped his lower body, she slid her arms under his and gently grasped at her shirt and bra, grabbing both and pulling them off before tossing them off the side of the couch while he did the same with his shirt.

She smiled as she saw his body and pulled him close to her, letting her soft breasts and petite form be wrapped by his as she resumed kissing and moaning as he slowly slid under her pants and began undoing them for her.

"Haah…" She gasped in pleasure as she felt him gently brush up against her femhood. "Jeremy~… I love you so much Jeremy~!"

He kissed her as she helped pull her pants down and undid his own belt, before he used his legs to slip them off and then kissed her again as their sexes began teasing and playing with one another.

"So do I Gazelle." He replied as he playfully began massaging her left breast while his right hand held each hers.

Jeremy could feel Gazelle's pussy becoming wetter and hotter not only as her arousal grew stronger, but also because it's significant other was close by. Her pussy could feel his dick sliding along her entrance, and the thought of it entering her, filling her and making her feel pleasure because of who it was she was making love with was driving her slightly crazy. Her body wanted him deep inside of her already, she wanted to feel that pleasure as he pressed into her passage with his dick, feel as it poked and prodded the entrance to her womb, and couldn't wait until he began thrusting in and out over and over again as they tried, yet again to create a baby without meaning to.

But she was patient, she had him all to herself, and he was equally patient, Gazelle wasn't going anywhere. They could take their time and enjoy one another.

"Mhmmm~." Gazelle moaned as he continued to grind against her entrance, teasing it with his length as she gripped his waist with her legs, slowly pulling him into her.

He moaned back as well before pulling away from her and lowering himself down to begin sucking on her breasts.

"Ahhh~!" She gasped as he took her right breast into his mouth and began playing with her nipple, the fur on her body being tickled and touched by his wet sensitive tongue. "Ooooh Jeremy…"

He moved from her right breast over to her left breast now, massaging the other as she continued to gasp in pleasure. Meanwhile his dick slowly began poking the entrance to her pussy, the tip feeling the wetness of her passage enticing it to enter and enjoy its delicious nectar directly.

Gazelle could feel his dick throbbing as it reached forward without Jeremy's intentions and began to quietly slip in, and her entrance twitched in response, secreting her juices so that it would slip right in without any hassle. Their bodies were starting to lust for one another, their patient fore playing getting to them as they started to get wilder and more direct.

After Jeremy finally stopped sucking and playing with her breasts, he climbed forward again and resumed kissing his antelope girl and slipped his dick right into her passage without any more hesitation.

"Mmmmhaaaaaaa!" She gasped as he began slowly thrusting in and out at a loving pace. "Ooooh Jeremy… you know how to turn me on~!"

"I think… it's the reverse… you know how to turn 'me' on!" He replied as he kept thrusting. "I love you so much Gazelle… I can't tell you… how lucky I feel to have you!"

She laughed a little as he started picking his pace up, his dick poking the entrance to her cervix which teased it by not permitting access, but she knew it would open up soon enough. Her body just wanted his to work for its easily obtainable reward.

"Ah… right there… oh yes… right there… ah~!"

Her legs straightened out as he adjusted his position and began to pound into her body, his hips smacking against hers with a resounding slap every time they connected. Her tail began wagging quickly in excitement as she began panting from the pleasure. After a few thrusts her cervix opened up and welcomed his dick inside, their juices beginning to mix as his pre began leaking and starting to coat her inner walls.

"Ah… right… oh… yes… yes…Harder HARDER!"

He began grunting from his efforts as he thrust harder and harder into her pussy, after a few seconds he slowed down to kiss Gazelle deeply, and then surprised her by picking her up and turning her over so that she now resting on her knees and elbows while he wrapped around her torso to grasp her breasts. Then he resumed pushing harder and deeper into her body, Gazelle smiling as she was taken from behind.

"Ooooh… yes… fuck… Gazelle…" He moaned as she turned and pecked at his lips whenever they were close enough.

"Fuck… yes… fuck meeee~!" She squealed as he slowed down again, wrapped her tightly against him, and rammed harder than before. "AHHH YES, YES… OH YES… CUM FOR ME… IN ME BABY… INSIDE MY HONEY HOLE!"

"GAZELLE!" He yelled as he gave an almighty thrust, shoved as deep as he could go, and released inside of her.

"AHHH~!" She screamed in pleasure as she released all over his dick, her womb being filled with his cum and sperm.

They panted heavily as they reveled in the aftermath glow of their love making, before exhaustion took hold of them both and they collapsed on the bed. She then turned to him and flipped over so that they could hold one another face to face without him needing to pull out. She wrapped her legs lovingly around his waist, hugged him tightly to her, and kissed him passionately.

Gazelle smiled as she sighed tiredly with him. It was a very peaceful time now, and she prayed that was how it would stay.

(Aelita's PoV)

She stared into cyberspace, gathering data from a hundred eyes each viewing a hundred pages, something she began doing recently since Jeremy's final failed assassination attempt occurred.

While the world as a whole, for the most part, viewed the attempt on his life as horrid and was behind his Facility's over the top 'protective measurements' when it came to apprehending Kassandra Chuckle, leading governments however had secretly begun working behind the scenes in their respective nations to uncover 'other' potentially abandoned human sites. This all was going under the guise of searching for 'additional human cultural sites' publicly in the name of 'archeological research'.

But as she reviewed interesting news points and disguised but still easily readable data points that she, 'acquired' without the government knowing about it, she learned that they were trying to locate potential caches of human technology. She wasn't too worried about them actually finding one, because other than the Eden Facilities, most other locations weren't nearly as carefully constructed to last the end of the world.

Eden Facility 17 had been the 'only' exception, while the other 16 tragically met their ends from within, 17 survived both from within and from without. Nature had not been able to put a dent in the base, and thus preserved everything carefully inside for later use by the humans who 'should' have survived…

A fact that forever haunted her, because despite her best intentions… Celios was right, she'd betrayed the Creator Species, proved their fear of AI was accurate, and doomed them to extinction by prioritizing Jeremy over the others.

So far all was going according to her plans, the world was steadily moving in the direction she wished so that she could achieve her ultimate goal of bringing peace and prosperity to the world. Creating a Golden Age wasn't going to be easy, as long as some mammal governments, particularly those 'outside' of the one Facility 17 resided in, perceived him to be a potential threat.

They'd saved one Data Sphere from government hands, but if another just so happens to show up… she had to know, so she was asking Sentinel to monitor all incoming and outgoing transmissions that it could, looking for anything that might involve a potential human site, no matter how small or important it might be.

Though, on the positive side she noted as she switched over to her website and saw all of the traffic going in and out of it, the positive reactions 'because' of Jeremy's actions have begun to reach farther and wider.

She smiled as she read various chatrooms where her visitors were talking about the court's final decision regarding the cures and vaccines Ema was developing. A final verdict had been reached and the courts voted almost unanimously to keep the cures and vaccines free for public use. The pharmaceutical companies 'tried' to appeal, but after a few days bowed to the inevitable and gave up the fight. With that final nail in the coffin, Ema's vaccines and cures began being distributed worldwide, and already they were having an extremely positive effect.

Due to their now 'global' reach, Jeremy and Ema and Eden Facility 17 as a whole was being given daily shipments of materials and supplies from not 'just' Zootopia but the world now, especially the more 'friendly' governments and nations, particularly those of poorer areas. Those poorer nations were receiving the positive medical impact the most, not having the infrastructure and facilities to meet the medical needs of its citizens. Thanks to Ema however, they no longer needed to focus on such efforts since she now began global distribution of her vaccines and cures.

This of course left her complaining, saying how she had 'more work' because of this demand.

To help meet the demand, Jeremy converted an empty storage bay into a vaccine/cure production facility that was connected to Ema's AI and would allow her to mass produce her works while allowing her to continue her research and development into the cures and vaccines for various diseases. DOG drones would take the finished products and then deliver them to the surface, where they'd be picked up and distributed as needed.

With ANT drones helping Jeremy completed it in six days.

She refocused her gaze onto her website and began to update various history pages with documents and moments of importance. She uploaded new videos and images of humans, animals, objects and cities of the past. From across the ages of Humanity's culture and periods of time she showed how the species progressed from living in homes made of mud, wood, clay and other low-tech materials, into the futuristic species that was on the verge of exploring space had the Final War not happened. She showed them floating cars and trucks, massive aerial vehicles that defied imagination, early drone designs built for public and civil service meant to work alongside their human counterparts and not just simply replace them.

She wanted mammals to see that they were not that different from them, that they could achieve the same heights, the same dreams, the same beautiful shining future that… for a brief moment, humanity had.

Until it all fell apart… she thought as she tapped into her website and created a new page, finally deciding to report the chronical data regarding the Final War, how it happened… and eventually how it ended.

She uploaded the data for the early stages, and naturally when the page was completed and her website updated to include all she had worked on that day, traffic picked up and hundreds of thousands of viewers poured into the site. Across the net she observed how traffic began spreading, word going from one thread to another, slowly increasing the number of eyes she was attracting every second.

With that she turned her attention away from her site and thought about her next goal was going to be, planting a hand on her chin and thinking about what to do next. She knew Jeremy was starting to make more modern progress and was now helping the mammals advance their tech, at least in some regards, but there was still far more work to be done. The question was though 'what'?

So, she posed the question to the Wisdom of Humanity, asking her database the question and letting it answer her.

Within seconds thousands upon thousands of voices, ideas, and thoughts raged and ran, arguing and debating, questioning and answering themselves as she waited for them to find a resolution to what she posed.

While that happened, Jeremy and Gazelle made their way into the room and she smiled and waved at them, smirking as she noticed they were already wearing their 'night robes', having been privy to their activities downstairs.

"Goodnight Aelita." Jeremy said tiredly as both he and Gazelle climbed into bed.

"Goodnight as well Aelita~!" Gazelle said as she pulled the blanket over them.

She nodded and let them go to sleep, returning to her thoughts as the Wisdom of Humanity continued to question and answer itself to find the solution. She began to become confused as well into the night, the Wisdom of Humanity 'still' had not yet answered her question.

She walked around her holosphere as she continued to listen to the thoughts and voices debating inside of her AI, content to wait as she knew her creators would not steer her wrong. She was their culmination of wisdom and guidance; they would not steer her or whomever she was guiding astray.

Then at long last, after six hours of continuous debates, the voices began to slow down, settling into quiet acceptance, and finally she received her answer.

'Do not push one any further than they are willing to go, for a goal not one's own is a goal unwanted. The dream of perfection is forever out of reach but still offers the drive purpose that comes with reaching it. Prosperity eternal is a gilded rose that offers the sweet sense of promise as they sleep, yet it leaves one dreaming of what comes as the price to obtain that bejeweled rose. The tortoise does not wish to outrun the rabbit, for the rabbit misses the journey that the tortoise enjoys in favor of the goal post, in the end the rabbit's victory is hollow as the tortoise need not have raced for what it has gained in defeat while the rabbit sat waiting to confirm it's victory. A gentle nudge is all a young mind needs to steer it in the right direction, it is chosen more easily if they believe it to be their own desire to walk it…'

'Let Life… find its way.'

She thought about that and thought about her actions thus far. Things had been progressing steadily toward her ideal, toward what she was programmed to guide the species of humanity, and now the mammals, to reaching. They had begun investing into their planet's future thanks to 'clean energy ideas' Jeremy had given them with Mr. Big's cars and the Wind Turbines that saved Zootopia's power problems. As mammals began learning that their fossil fuels were now probably not only the remains of just plants but also humans, their interest in the industry and fuel options were beginning to wane. The vision of humanity's advanced technology and capabilities had inspired tech companies to invest heavily into future projects, and minds were coming together to begin working toward AI of their own, including potential drone designs of their own creation.

But her species' wisdom was telling her to not rush them, to let them advance on their own for now. She was being asked to point them in the right direction, not told to follow it.

Perhaps the Wisdom of Humanity knew something she was not aware of, because she was still thinking that, since this progress is good and beneficial it should be pursued and pushed faster.

She needed to understand, show she asked the Wisdom of Humanity to answer her question once more. 'Why?'

This time however, she dove into the Wisdom of Humanity, not simply asking it to answer her question and provide the most ideal answer to achieve her goals. This time she was asking the Wisdom of Humanity to answer her question and explain its reasoning.

As she did, a voice spoke out, and flashes of imagery of the past began to appear before her, explaining 'why'.

"The future lies in the arms and hands of those who desire it for themselves, and not because someone tells them to pursue it and believe in it." A voice said calmly. "The power one has over others lies in their ability to control and manipulate the ideals and dreams of those who have in 'their' possessions, the ability to control and manipulate the future. How often has history proven, time and again, that when one tries to take the future into 'their' hands, and force it onto others, that those people choose to resist with all their might?"

She was shown images of the past, of a would-be emperor who tried to conquer the world and united it against him. She saw a government crumble as its people rose up against its oppression. She saw a people fight against its country over a war that should not have been had. She watched as a gender fought for its rights throughout the ages.

"The pursuit of progress is inherently natural, it is by far the definition of nature's desire to improve, to grow, to push beyond its limits. Nature, however, goes about things slowly, because it goes about things in ways that are too intricate to replicate, and nature knows the delicate balance required to understand how progress affects the delicate balance of the world. How often, has the pursuit of progress been manipulated, the dream of progress shattered, and the very things meant to help lives instead been twisted and destroyed the lives of millions?"

She observed an owl watching a mouse scurry underneath the canopy of a tree. She watched as an ant lifted a leaf five times its size. She watched as the first car was created. She watched as the first armored tank rolled out of the factory. She watched as the first plane soared fourteen feet above the ground for over twenty seconds. She stared as the first atomic bomb exploded, shattering the lives of millions.

"The only thing that keeps the world on course is the power one has in their freedom o choose the future they wish. If they believe that the choice is no longer theirs to make, that the future they see is another's being forced upon them, then they will resist to pursue the dream they are permitted to pursue at birth, given to them by 'nature', not someone else. When that course shifts, is when the future shifts as well. Forcing this shift has only negative effects, and as such, should be avoided… until this shift occurs naturally."

With that the voice fell silent, and she contemplated the answer given. It made sense, she had to admit, the Wisdom of Humanity was her ultimate tool when it came to guiding the future of the species. If it said to wait, then she would wait.

She pulled up the news sites again and decided to keep an eye on things.

And so, she sat that way until morning light finally came, and she lazed about waiting for Jeremy to wake up.

Then…

(Alert, Alert, Human Signal Detected!) Sentinel stated as it made an emergency transmission to her AI.

She snapped to alertness as the communication came in.

(Emergency Transmission discovered, unable to triangulate origins, signal degradation too extensive.)

She quickly started working, tapping into Sentinel's data stream to examine its findings, and what she saw shocked her…

She turned to Jeremy…

(Jeremy's and Gazelle's PoV)

(Raaaa-eee-yaaa Ra-ra-e-yo-ra Sora ni migoto na kinoko no kumo)

(Raaaa-eee-yaaa Ra-ra-e-yo-ra Komichi de e wo hamu kotori no gogo ha!)

Instantly Jeremy woke up as Aelita, for only Aelita could be playing 'that' music, something that he didn't even realize existed but knew it did because who else, but Aelita, would play that song so early in the morning so suddenly?

"What the…" He half yawned and yelled as he and Gazelle were forced to wake up. "Aelita, what was that for?"

"Uuugh what the hay Aelita?" Gazelle growled in agreement as they stared at the AI who was quietly watching them.

(Raaaa-eee-yaaa Ra-ra-e-yo-ra Sora ni migoto na kinoko no kumo) She sang louder.

(Raaaa-eee-yaaa Ra-ra-e-yo-ra Komichi de e wo hamu kotori no gogo ha!) She sang even 'louder'.

"ENOUGH, WE'RE AWAKE!" He yelled as he and Gazelle covered their ears.

Aelita created a pair of 'emergency' signs and began waving them, conveying the message as fast as possible before transforming into the solar carriage, creating a holographic version of himself getting into it. She then had it drive quickly before stopping outside of the Eden Facility. She waved frantically as she returned to her normal form, pointing outside and using her whole body to convey that he needed to hurry!

He looked confused as the AI seemed 'desperate' to get him to get to the facility as fast as possible. However, Aelita was his species guide, and he trusted her every word, if she said it was important then he had to go to the facility.

"Alright, let me change really quick then."

"Jeremy what's wrong?" Gazelle asked nervously as he got out of bed and began putting on some proper clothes.

"I don't know, but Aelita wants me to get to the facility as fast as possible." He explained. "She doesn't act this way unless it's extremely important."

So, after five minutes of getting ready, both he and Gazelle hopped into the Solar Carriage with her friends having gone home last night. The carriage made its way to Eden Facility 17, but not at the slow pace of the HORSE drones, instead Aelita overrode them and had the carriage move on its own with Aelita controlling it. Jeremy tried to ask her what was going on, what was the rush, but she refused to even acknowledge him as she directed their course.

"What is going on Jeremy, why is Aelita acting this way?" Gazelle asked as they raced past morning traffic.

"I don't know, she's never acted this way before…" He said.

The drive to the facility was extremely short, with Aelita using her knowledge of Zootopia's layout, the speed limitations put on vehicles, and finally her knowledge of traffic signal timings to ensure they never once stopped or had to change speed. She sped them down the tunnel entrance and toward the door, stopping only when they reached their destination so they could exit.

After that he picked her up and led Gazelle to the entrance to the facility, and from there to the Command Center.

"Alright what is going on here?" He asked as he reached the command room.

(Unit Jeremy, signal monitoring protocols and algorithms have detected the presence of a Human Transmission along the Emergency Frequency!)

At those words, he felt shocked and surprise, but more importantly felt his whole throat seemingly collapse in on itself. "Im… possible… I was told… that, I thought Facility 17 was the only surviving facility?"

(Transmission unknown, location origins unable to triangulate. Signal Strength Status: Extremely Weak, unable to establish communications, contact impossible, transmission degradation detected, limited sequence decoding completed, beginning playback message…)

=Psst chshrg… Grsgshshhhsss thi… grgra… of Eden Facility 3… resp… gragrh rep… someone, anyone… out there? Grgr Calling any survrgrrrgsgh this is graregarg ksccsthststeeesh-ty 3=

He stared at the holo viewer as the transmission was played again, tears falling from his eyes as he heard the voice of another human, another 'human'… calling for help… calling for survivors… from Eden Facility 3.

=Psst chshrg… Grsgshshhhsss thi… grgra… of Eden Facility 3… resp… gragrh rep… someone, anyone… out there? Grgr Calling any survrgrrrgsgh this is graregarg ksccsthststeeesh-ty 3=

"Jeremy… is it possible?" Gazelle asked as Aelita appeared next to him with a nervous expression.

He just stared, watching the transmission repeat once more.

=Psst chshrg… Grsgshshhhsss thi… grgra… of Eden Facility 3… resp… gragrh rep… someone, anyone… out there? Grgr Calling any survrgrrrgsgh this is graregarg ksccsthststeeesh-ty 3=

Then he sprung into action, sitting in the chair and bringing up a holo-keyboard. "Sentinel divert additional power to the signal receivers! Boost all incoming and outgoing signals to maximum levels!"

(Power transfer beginning, efficiency increased thirty-five percent.)

"Aelita see if you can tap into the transmission and clear up the signal!" He ordered.

She nodded and pulled up seven windows to do as he wished.

"Sentinel send a reply signal and attempt to use that to locate the origin point of the transmission! Use all available frequencies!"

(Unable to comply, transmission origin estimated beyond range of Eden Facility 17 sensors, unable to calculate potential origin point due to limited information.)

"Sentinel is there a way to boost the signal strength any further and increase the range?"

(Situational analysis, impossible, orbital relay posts non-functional, unable to locate known orbital satellites to boost transmission range. Reevaluating options… Reevaluation complete, non-human orbital satellites detected in orbit within range of signal transmission, utilization of these orbital satellites is possible. Risk evaluation complete, potential intrusion detected, signal can be monitored and intercepted, course of action ill-advised!)

He looked at the data he was being shown and frowned, he could use the satellites that the mammals had in orbit to bounce their signal and attempt to locate the origin point that way, but if he did that his transmission would be detected, and he was quite sure 'that' would get some unwanted attention. But he had to know…

"Gazelle…" he whispered quietly as he looked at her. "Can I… I mean… this isn't what I should be doing with my base's technology… but… I have to know…"

Gazelle simply smiled as she walked over and patted his shoulder, nodding in understanding. "Do it… don't ask me… I won't judge you."

He smiled gratefully as he turned to Aelita and nodded to her.

She nodded back and immediately began hacking into the satellites to hide their actions working with Sentinel to carry out his request, (Locating necessary orbital satellites for signal transmission. Satellites located. Realigning frequency subroutines. Falsifying network codes. Boosting signal strength. Encrypting transmission signal. Accessing satellite mainframes…) after a few minutes she gave him a thumbs up.

"Sentinel, send the transmission…" He declared.

(Sending Signal Now!)

He waited with quiet, hopeful breaths as he waited for the transmission to reach its destination, and if it worked, they would receive a reply signal. They waited, him, Gazelle and Aelita… for Sentinel to confirm or deny the signal reached its destination.

(Signal Transmission failed, unable to reach Emergency Transmission Point of Origin. Incompatible transmission array detected in origin region, unable to establish connection, alternate signal transmission failed. Unusual metallic compound material found within soil of region preventing signals from reaching destination. Unable to triangulate transmission origins, unable to calculate alternatives.)

He leaned back as he felt even 'deader' inside… but he shook his head and refused to give up without a fight.

"Explanation, why is there an incompatible transmission array detected in the region?"

(Explanation: Human signal from Eden Facility 17 travelling along Mammal Satellite Frequency lines are unable to reach the region due to a barrier created by an incompatible transmission array. Analysis suggests an incompatible system of transmission arrays and network lines at source location.)

"Can you get any more of the transmission, is any of it coming in cleaner now that we know the region it's coming from?" He asked quickly.

(Confirmed, transmission degradation still high, transmission quality improved by seven percent, decoding now… decoding complete, beginning playback!)

=Psst chshrg… Grs this is Coraline… grgra… of Eden Facility 3… if you can hear this respond, please… gragrh repeat… is someone, anyone… out there? Grgr Calling any survivors who can hear this mesgrrrgsgh this is graregarg ksccsthsts of Eden Facility 3=

(Transmission degradation analyzed, signal quality and strength degradation estimated at 347, 553 years since transmission first made.)

He did the math and realized that this message was sent about one year after Aelita was put to sleep. Meaning whoever had sent it, would have long after his father died, and he had been the last living Eden Facility 17 personnel before Sentinel began killing off his fellow cryologists. In other words…

"I'm too late…" He muttered sadly. "They're long since dead by now… no way they'd be alive after all of this time."

Aelita frowned as she walked over and placed her hands over his, feeling sad and sorry for his loss, 'again'. Once again, the world felt the need to remind him that he was alone in the world.

"Jeremy… if they are dead… then why is a signal still coming through?" Gazelle asked quietly.

He looked up at her before he realized she had a point, the signal was 'still' transmitting, it was 'still' going even after all of this time. That must mean only one thing, 'someone' had to be maintaining it somehow. In order for a signal to be able to be sent out, something had to be transmitting it, receiving power, be maintained to an extent… and that could only mean one thing.

"There may be a survivor… even if it was an automated signal it still would need to be maintained or else…" He whispered. "Sentinel, where is this signal coming from, bring up the region on the holo-globe!"

The holo viewer changed to a globe and it zeroed in on a region on the other side of the world from where Zootopia was located. The area was outlined in a black line to indicate where the satellites the mammals used could not connect or reach to. The area was rather 'small' compared to the continental landmass overall, but it was still large enough that he would never be able to pinpoint where the signal's origin point was from the Eden Facility.

"Jeremy… I know that place…" Gazelle muttered as she stood next to him. "Uh… Sentinel is it? Can you please show us a world map?"

(Request Clarification, by what definition do you define the term 'World Map'?) Sentinel asked.

"I guess, Mammilian world map?" She responded.

(Database updated, displaying most recently updated World Map based on current database.)

On the holoviewer were all the continents of the world, while most of the continental landmasses had remained relatively the same, there were still a 'few' differences from the world map as it looked during his time compared to the modern mammal one. However, the area he was looking at regarding the Emergency Transmission Origins was an almost completely land-locked nation that was small and surrounded by various other nations whose borders it shared. It had access to the ocean at a single location, otherwise it was stuck in between two larger nations, three if he countered the one who's borders it shared with by the ocean and only by the smallest of margins.

"I was afraid of that… Jeremy, I don't think you should go." Gazelle said quietly.

"Why, is there something wrong?" He asked as both he and Aelita looked at her now.

"Yes Jeremy, that nation is the Democratic Northern Mothland, and despite the name it is probably one of the most closed off dictatorial run countries still in existence to this day!" Gazelle muttered fearfully. "You obviously were still asleep during that time, but for over a hundred years that nation has been at almost constant war between its three neighbors. There is a temporary 'cease fire' that has been in effect for the last twenty years, but hostilities between that country and its neighbors are still high. The country is completely closed off to outsiders, and almost nomammal is allowed in, even diplomats and dignitaries are monitored 'strictly'. Almost nomammal knows what goes on in there, but the few mammals who have escaped it and crossed the borders…"

She looked scared as she stared at him with half-pleading eyes, trying to convey just how terrible the place was that she was describing using only second-hoof knowledge from what the media has reported. "It is complete widespread censorship country, despite being a 'democratic' government in name it's actually a military dictatorship that rules the country, there is almost 'no' freedom to be found for any mammals living there, oppression, starvation, you name it they have it! Their leadership has had mammals disappear for trying to leave the country."

She looked away as she recalled some of her darkest fears about that location, fears that while fleeting 'never' left her, only resurfacing now that she was forced to think about that country again.

"They often try to bring in 'outside' mammals of high importance, whether public figures or private financial individuals. Often under the guise of 'inviting them to tour their country', but often some mammals never leave, due to feeling a need to 'help the country they suddenly grow attached to'… it's often figured that those mammals are coerced or 'forced' to stay for some reason or another. And of course, their 'tours' are all monitored, strictly monitored so that they aren't allowed to leave and venture out beyond the restricted zones."

"I was invited during my early days as Zootopia's number 1 pop Idol to tour their country, naturally I accepted because I wanted to use my fame and popularity to spread the word and my belief of coexistence between Predators and Prey… I was only in that country for 'two' days… but it was the scariest two days I've ever lived. Everything just felt wrong… mammals smiled but it looked… 'forced', things were nice, but they appeared 'too nice', and every second I felt like I was being watched. They didn't ever let me talk to mammals who weren't 'scheduled' to talk to me, they made me go on specific tours to locations… and unless I asked a question about what they were talking about… they just made up some excuse to not answer me. They asked me if I wanted to extend my visit but… I said no and left as soon as possible, I asked my friends to not leave my side for a moment and we always stayed within eye shot of each other."

She began crying slightly as she remembered that time, she'd held off going to the bathroom for 'two days' because of how scared she was to go and be left alone. Her friends understood her and never left her side for a second, even when 'they' went to the bathroom they made sure two of them were with her at all times. It was her first foray out of her country and the experience had made her almost never want to even leave Zootopia ever again for half a day.

"Even… even if there is a slight chance Jeremy, you don't want to go there, you just 'can't' go there the risk is too much, so please tell me you won't go!" She pleaded with him.

He was quiet as he looked between her terrified expression, the tears sliding ever so slowly down her face, the look of fear and desperation as she begged him to not go. Then he looked at the holo viewer and thought about the transmission, about Coraline, her pleading message calling upon any survivors to respond.

"Gazelle… I can't just ignore this…" He replied sadly.

"Why, why can't you just ignore it… Jeremy you 'can't' go there this is one risk too far!" She started yelling. "Jeremy ever since you woke up your life has been at risk, you have been threatened, shot at, nearly frozen, poisoned and almost assassinated! You can't keep risking your life, sooner or later you'll take a risk and then…"

She turned away from him and just shook angrily as she couldn't take it anymore.

"Jeremy… the next time, there might not be a drone to save you… a mammal to push you out of the way, a machine to take the bullet for you, a doctor to keep your heart beating… the next time… you can't keep dodging death forever, sooner or later…. S-sooner… or later… you'll…"

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her body and she knew it was Jeremy hugging her. Despite her fear, she turned around and hugged him back, and cried into his embrace.

"I know…" He whispered sadly. "I know… I can't keep dodging death forever… sooner or later, I may make a mistake and then…"

"Then why… why risk it?" She asked tearfully. "You don't have to go… just stay here… with me… where its safe and… where we can live happily and peacefully, and you don't have to risk your life anymore."

"Because if I don't go, I'll never be able to live with myself…"

She looked up into his eyes and saw the pain in them, the pain that until now he'd been able to keep at bay, but now was resurfacing because of his knowledge of being the 'last' of humanity.

"Gazelle, the signal degradation is so high that there is almost a zero to 'slim' chance of even finding a human skeleton there, let alone a living human. By now they're probably long since dead… and if I were to go there, I'd find nothing more than dust and bones, if lucky. But…"

He looked at the holoviewer and sighed.

"But if I 'don't' go there and there is a human out there, still alive, calling for help… I could be their last hope, and if they died because of my inaction… I'd never be able to live with myself knowing I could have saved them but chose not to." He looked back at Gazelle as he placed a hand on his heart. "Gazelle, all I've got left of my people are what is inside of this base, my knowledge of who we were and what we were, records stored in the database and myself. But moreover, I do not know what 'happened' to them, I don't know the whole truth, the full picture. There are still gaps, pieces missing, Alexander and Celios told me that none of the other Eden Facilities survived, and no other base could have outlasted 'mine' and sustained human life if I was the only survivor from a 'thousand'. That transmission just proved what I was told was wrong… I HAVE to know, even if the odds are next to nothing, even if all I'll find are bones and records, even with the risk I take going to this place… I 'have' to know the truth Gazelle."

"I need to know!" He told her sternly, before taking a deep breath, placing a hand on her cheek and holding her close to him. "However, you're right… I can't keep taking risks, sooner or later I may take a risk too far and that's it. If 'you' say to stay… if 'you' ask me to not go… then for your sake, I'll stay… because I love you Gazelle… and I don't want to give up this life I now have with you."

She silently held him as they were watched by the AI Aelita, and as she started glancing around, she noticed that not only was the AI there, but other drones had also arrived without them knowing. Various Raptor, Dog, Fox and even some ANT drones had arrived in the command center, even the nicknamed 'Pete' Raptor drone was there. They all watched them, Aelita sitting on the console desk as she awaited Gazelle's answer to Jeremy's offer.

"If I say stay… you'll stay?" She asked.

He nodded.

She looked sadly into his eyes before leaning forward and planting a sad, but loving kiss on his lips. It was short lived, but she conveyed her feelings for him, her heart tugging at his and wrapping around his in a powerful embrace, smothering it with her affection and feelings for his. When it ended, she sighed and said, "Then I say we both go… you're right, even if the odds of a survivor being there are between zero and none, we still need to go and check. If for nothing else than peace of mind, and if there 'is' another human out there…"

She looked at the holo viewer.

"We can't let them stay in that place; we need to save them!" She told him. "If a human is there, we can't leave them in a nation like Northern Mothland, if they're discovered then who knows what will happen to them. And if a nation like Northern Mothland gets access to your species technology…"

"Yea… I was scared of someone greedy like Kassara Chuckles, if a dictator were to get access to my technology… then that's a recipe for global disaster." He replied as she let him go, allowing him to turn to the holo viewer and pull up some more data screens. "Sentinel, can you judge how many others have been able to detect this transmission?"

(Data compilation in progress, processing data network, compiling database, analysis of compiled data completed… due to high degradation of the transmission's signal and due to the outdated frequency in correlation to standard mammalia transmission monitoring techniques, Emergency Transmission Signal remains undetected in current form due to enormous continuous background signal transmissions being exchanged across the globe. Enhancement of the signal at source can improve signal strength and allow for public detection.)

"Thank goodness that the signal is still undetected, this means we can go to the country and search for the signal's origins without tipping them off of what we're looking for. All we need is an excuse to go there to won't arouse suspicion and a way to locate it…" He muttered. "But that's going to be the hard part…"

"Well either way, I'm going with you Jeremy." Gazelle said with a smile.

"But… Gazelle you just said so yourself, it was the worst time of your life being there, you don't have to-"

She shut him up with a finger to his lips and a smile.

"I know… and I don't want to go there again." She replied quietly. "But I also am never leaving your side ever again if I can help it now. Besides… I love you more than I fear that nation, and if we go together, I know you'll protect me, and I'll protect you."

He looked at her before looking at the holo viewer, he was hesitant to go to this nation now that Gazelle was set on joining him, but he had no choice, he 'had' to go. He looked at Aelita who shrugged with a smile before twirling and changing her outfit to resemble a cute female soldier's attire, gave him a comedic salute and nod of assurance, saying in her own way that she's behind him every step of the way. He then turned to the drones and said, "I know I don't need to ask you all but… are you guys willing to go with me on an expedition?"

[We are ready to assist in Bzzz grrrrrg LALALALALALA Saddle up kiddies we're headin south of the border!] Pete spoke in a weird accent that he didn't recognize.

He laughed at that as he looked once again at the holo viewer, a look of determination on his face. "I don't know if you're alive or not… but if there is even a 'glimmer' of hope, I will find you and save you."

Before they left, he decided to have Sentinel begin compiling a list of Sentinel Drones that would go with him on the expedition, drones with combat experience and knowledge of the potential terrain the Northern Mothland was known to have, at least to the public. It also ordered it to compile it using the known technology the drones had and select those best suited to the environment.

"Even if we're going there not to fight, no reason we should be unprotected." He explained to Gazelle and Aelita, who both agreed with him. "Until then, return to your posts and await orders."

[As you command, Unit Jere- beeeeeez prrrrrrrrrrb VRAVRAVRAVRA WE STILL HAVE AN ARMY DOWNSTAIRS!]

Jeremy rolled his eyes as the drones all left, PT-173 had been so unstable since it upgraded to Category 7, blurting out random things so frequently, but at least he found no reason to wipe its memory and reset its AI, and he hoped it would stay that way for Lula's sake. She considered the drone a good friend of hers, and he would keep the drone going as long as he could.

After placing the necessary requirements into Sentinel's records, they left so that the base AI could work on the task of analyzing all available Sentinel Drones. They took the carriage back to Gazelle's home, Aelita taking over the driving and going at a more 'reasonable' pace this time. Despite the urge to get there as soon as possible, there was no way he could go there at this time of the year, due to the fact that it was currently the tailing end of winter and thus too cold for him to risk triggering his Cryogenetic Sclerosis.

As they arrived, they noticed a rather 'official' looking car parked outside of her home and a Camel in a suit standing outside of her door with Moe and Donny standing guard and keeping an eye on him. After introductions were made, the mammal introduced himself as a government representative for the Collected City States of Mammalia, and both he and Gazelle sat down with him to hear what he had to talk to them about.

"Greetings Jeremy, first a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The camel said politely, accepting Gazelle's offer of tea as he took a drink. "Now then, I'm here on official government business to inform you that as a citizen of Zootopia you have every right to reject any offer made to you by another nation. As a diplomat assigned to you by the government due to your standing, it's my job to act as your liaison for other nations and voice your response to their potential inquiries and offers to you."

"Alright… so what is this 'offer'?" He asked quietly.

"You see Mr. Jeremy, the nation known as the Democratic Northern Mothland has extended an invitation to you to tour their capital and enjoy their 'hospitality'." The diplomat said.

"In other words, they want him to visit so they can take advantage of hm as a person and his standing as a species!" Gazelle said with quiet fury. "They extended the same 'courtesy' to me years ago…"

"Yes… I am aware Miss Gazelle." The diplomat said apologetically. "I understand your hesitation Jeremy, if you wish to reject the offer, you are free to reject and I will inform our embassy there that you reject the offer, but send your highest regards…"

"Why do they want to see me all of a sudden?" He asked the diplomat. "Knowledge of me has been around for 'months', why do they suddenly want to see me now?"

"I do not know, but I do know that information in that country is 'strictly' monitored, they probably have kept word of you quiet and only 'recently' wanted you to come, because they probably feel that they can keep your existence a secret from the general public. About seventy percent of the nation's population is sheep, wolf and coyote. As you know, Sheep regard your species in a religious light, and the current governing body of the Democratic Northern Mothland has used this to their advantage, indoctrinating its citizens in a 'pseudo' religion in which the state is the supreme authority and whoever leads it is their 'supreme leader'. But that is only the information we've been able to find out, knowledge of the nation is extremely limited, they almost never let 'any' visitors into their country, and the few that are allowed in are strictly monitored."

"And considering how sheep view my species, just going off of how sheep in Zootopia reacted when they learned of me, my going there would potentially throw their system into chaos." Jeremy thought. "Which begs the question, why do they want me to go?"

"I do not know, but I would not recommend going." The diplomat said. "It is a common practice of theirs to try and 'abduct' important figures in the world, financially important ones in particular and having them use their connections to make Northern Mothland more important on the geopolitical stage."

He nodded as he closed his eyes and thought about it, finding it a little 'too' convenient that just when a signal was detected, the nation he needed to find a way to slip into without tipping his hand, suddenly decided to extend the olive branch and invite him in? It was too convenient for his tastes. But it gave him what he needed.

"Tell them I'll go; however, I'm going to need a month to go." He spoke.

"Why do you want to go, I just told you why you 'shouldn't' go."

"I know, but as you said, I'm a public face that's well known throughout the world now, if I 'don't' go it may raise the wrong ideas… while I'm sure Mothland is as you say, it's also as you said, you have no real knowledge of what's going on in there." He explained. "So please relay to them that, I graciously accept their offer, but require about one month's time to make my preparations on account of my health. I currently suffer from a disease that prevents me from surviving in cold climates, therefore I'll need about one month for conditions to improve and to complete my preparations to travel there."

The diplomat was quiet before he nodded and said that he would do this, before leaving.

After that Jeremy and Gazelle talked about a few things, talking about how and 'what' they were going to do before going to Mothland. They knew that they would have to prepare for it, and Joseph had a few ideas, ideas that he shared with the mayor who had heard about his meeting with the diplomat and his agreement to go to the Democratic Northern Mothland. She arrived later that day to talk to him and Gazelle about it.

"A 'convoy'?" Mayor Lioness asked as the small ANT drone cleaned the floor beneath the table.

"A convoy of a few vehicles, specifically to cater to not only me and Gazelle, but also specifically my drones." He explained as Aelita cast a projection for him. "You see Mayor Lioness; we received an emergency transmission… and by 'we' I mean my Eden Facility. The transmission was human, belonging to someone named Coraline."

"Another human, you mean there's another survivor?" Lioness asked incredulously.

At that he sighed and looked at his hand. "I don't know… the signal is so heavily degraded that, there's no way to know. It's impossible to get a signal through and respond, the odds are about zero to none that there 'is' a survivor. More than likely, all I'll find are bones… if that." He whispered sadly. "But I still have to go, if there IS a survivor, I need to save them, and if there isn't a survivor then I still have to go because sooner or later, some mammal is 'going' to find that signal and then…"

"I know, it's the Data Sphere incident all over again, only this time its deep in a country run by a dictator." Mayor Lioness interjected. "Worst case scenario for the world, a dictatorial nation with desires for expansion with potential advanced technologies hidden in its borders. You have to go to locate it before they do."

"Yea… I know this is something I need to do, but is there anything about Mothland that you can share with me and Aelita that can help us?"

"Hmmm, well the only knowledge I can share with you is what's publicly known." She said with a frown. "Their nation, while poor, 'does' boast the largest military in the world, but they aren't exactly as 'advanced' as other nations. I believe they are still using thirty-year-old vehicles that are out of date and really pathetic compared to more modern vehicles. They have 'nothing' compared to what you have Jeremy and nothing you should fear, but…"

"Be on guard… I know." He replied.

They were quiet for a while before Lioness brought up a question, "So how are you going to transport all of these 'vehicles' you have planned?"

"That's where I have a plan, you see Mayor Lioness, I was wondering, would Zootopia be willing to let me use the 'salvage' materials found in those scrap dumps in the construction of a new Flying Drone that could safely transport what I intend to bring?"

"Scrap materials, you want to build a flying drone using 'scrap'?"

"Scrap by your term, salvage by my species' term, you see my species no longer finds any material wasteful or wasted." He told her. "We find a use for anything and 'everything' possible when it comes to making use of salvage. We can recycle everything down to basic materials and material components. I can have my facility's ANT drones take apart even the most mundane of salvageable materials and make use of it in whatever we see fit."

"I can see that happening with how long I've known you and your facility's capabilities, but Jeremy, what about your base, what about the materials you said your base has set aside for construction purposes?"

"Eden Facility 17's materials that were set aside for construction purposes are more limited in terms of quantity then what you realize, you see while the facility itself carries the materials, it's the 'facility' that was meant to be broken down as time went on after the Cryologists woke up. That was what I… well 'We'… were supposed to do after establishing a basic base of operations and living conditions for a city. After a basic community was built, we'd use our drones to deconstruct the base slowly over time to establish 'new' facilities as needed to meet our immediate and long-term demands based on what conditions on the surface were like."

"I was going to use some of those to construct the various convoy vehicles, however the actual 'transport' meant to transport my drones, myself and our convoy would take up too much in terms of materials to construct than what my facility can cover in the short amount of time. Therefore, to actually construct it, I'd need outside help with building it… my drones and I can handle building it, but for the materials I need Zootopia's help with."

"Hmmm, well I suppose I can give you permission to draw the materials from the two scrapyards we have here in Zootopia. But you know that if I do this, you're going to have to explain to the federal government what your building, since the materials you're taking are 'not' primarily Eden Facility 17's and they aren't things like the produce you were able to grow." Lioness said with a thoughtful frown. "Preparing temporary stands for a public festival is one thing, creating construction drones at the request of an independent third party is another thing, but creating a flying transport drone meant to carry not only you but also vehicles and advanced 'military grade' drones and supplies across nation borders and air space is an entirely different beast. You're going to have to explain to the feds and answer some inquiries. I can't pull any strings at that high a level because now we're talking international level, not the city level."

"I'm aware of that but given what I'm going to be doing and why, I think you can agree the trade off is outweighed by what I'm going to have to do."

Lioness nodded as she agreed with what he had to say. "Alright Jeremy, I'll make the necessary preparations and fill out the paperwork for you to do what you need to do. I'll also sign a lease for some of the land outside of Zootopia's outskirts so that you can use it to actually construct your 'flying drone'." She said as she got up to leave. "Jeremy… please take care of yourself, I'd really hate to see something happened to you over in that accursed country after everything that's happened recently."

He thanked her and agreed with her, after that she left, leaving him and Gazelle alone again with her friends now all being there.

"Jeremy, are you sure this is a good idea?" Donny asked quietly.

"Yea man, this is a big risk you're taking." Moe agreed.

"Going over there is like the worst thing a mammal here could ever think of doing, nomammal wants to go there." Franky stated.

"Yea, and do you want to just go over there alone?" Joe said nervously.

"Going over there is unavoidable, like I told Gazelle guys, if I don't go and find out if there 'is' a survivor and whether or not they're alive… I'll never be able to live with myself if they died because of my inaction. Even if they aren't alive, and have been dead for thousands of years… I need to know, if for no other reason than peace of mind and to learn their fate. Plus… I must know what truly became of my people, they were, or 'are' a survivor of the Ironic War, maybe they left a record of what truly transpired, records that weren't expunged from the database like what befell my base. There are no official records or documents recording the Ironic War, if Alexander and Celios didn't tell me about it, I would never have known it even happened in the first place, and I would have believed that the other 16 Eden Facilities are out there… right now, buried, waiting to be uncovered again."

He sighed and got up, walked over to the window and stared at the sun, the almost clear skies, watching as a single fluffy cloud floated by without a care for those below.

"Why did the war have to happen, why did my people feel it necessary to lie to me and the other Cryologists about the 'real' reason we were being frozen and put to sleep? What did they see that I didn't see that warranted a necessary 'culling' of my species? Was there truly no other alternative solution?" He asked, more himself than the others. "I was trained, raised since youth to help everyone, save everyone, solve problems and issues, fix things that were broken and save as many lives as I possibly can. If I hadn't been told I was to be frozen, I would have tried to help every human back then, I believe maybe I could have helped. With the others chosen, we could have worked together to save our species… that's what we were training to do, they'd groomed me for that purpose my whole life. So why… why lie to me, why hide the truth… why cull the rest of our kind so that only a select few would survive?"

He felt a gentle grip on his shoulder and felt Gazelle cuddling next to him, giving him a warm cheek to feel and a familiar hand to grip. He was grateful to her for her company… it helped ease the pain he was now feeling in his heart.

"I'm no different than the others, I was just one human among a thousand picked to be frozen and saved. We received the same training, the same grooming, we were almost all alike down to our mental and social profiles. The only exception being… I was picked by Aelita, when I should have been dead long ago…" He whispered sadly. "I just need… I just want to know the truth."

He smiled sadly to Gazelle as he turned around and looked at Aelita. "Aelita, perhaps you can explain it better… use the Wisdom of Humanity to explain for me in your words."

Aelita nodded in her holosphere as she began humming sadly.

(Lost in the darkness… hoping for a sign… instead there's only silence… can't you hear me screams?) She sang as drops of water appeared around them, which took on the form of images of humans from the past, during Jeremy's time… of people within Eden Facility 17. (Never stop hoping, need to know where you are… but one thing's for sure… you're always in my heart!)

She cast a projection for them all of the map during Jeremy's time, marking the locations of the 17 Eden Facilities, and making them vanish one by one, leaving only 'one' still shining.

(I'll find you somewhere… I'll keep on trying until my dying day!) She sang sadly. )I just need to know… whatever has happened… the truth will free my soul!)

She created an image of herself walking through the sands of a barren desert, carrying chains behind her as she trudged behind Jeremy, who also bore chains along him. Both wearing rags and cloaks as they searched endlessly for 'something'.

(Lost in the darkness, try to find your way home!) She sang solemnly as their holographic selves found a stranded dying human lying in the sand and holding them happily. (I want to embrace you, and never let you go. Almost hope you're in heaven so no one can hurt your soul. Living in agony, cause I just do not know! Where. You. Are!)

(I'll find you somewhere, I'll keep on trying until my dying day! I just need to know… whatever has happened… the truth will free my soul!)

She showed them more images of the past, of faces Jeremy knew, vaguely now but he still recognized. His father, some old friends, colleagues, people he'd left behind, surface humans he'd been friends with, and he'd tried helping so many times growing up. Then she showed a single image of a woman, faceless and only recognized by her shape as a silhouette on the horizon, again in the backdrop of an image where she and Jeremy were searching across the deserts, reaching out and trying to reach her, trying to call to her.

(Wherever you are, I won't stop searching!" She sang sadly, now crying tears. "Whatever it takes, I need to knoooow!)

She hummed sadly as she looked to them each one at a time, before resting on a projected image of Emily Fitzgerald, the woman Aelita chose to sacrifice to save Jeremy.

(I'll find you somewhere, I'll keep on trying… until my dying DAY! I just need to know, whatever has happened… the truth will free my SOUL!)

With her song finished, she clutched the image of Emily to her, looking sorrowful and regretful. She looked to Jeremy now, with a nod of determination.

"We both need to go; this is more important to us then you guys realize. I need to go to try and at best save another member of my species, and at worst, find out what became of them. Aelita needs to go, for the same reason, but also to help make amends for what she did to save me."

"And I'm going with you…" Gazelle muttered warmly.

"You know you don't have to go Gazelle…" He tried to say, but she shushed him with a smile and a finger.

"Jeremy, wherever you go I go, I'm not leaving you alone ever again." She said lovingly. "I'm going with you to Mothland, no matter what."

"Well, we'll go with you guys as well." Donny said with a proud smile. "My bros and I Gazelle's friends and her bodyguards, and if she's going there again, we're going with her to keep her safe. We'll make sure you two stay safe all the way!"

With that Jeremy and Aelita decided to spend the rest of the day brainstorming what they were going to bring regarding the vehicles, while Gazelle contacted her agent to tell him what was going to be happening next month and made her own plans. Both him and Aelita agreed that at bare minimum, 'four' additional vehicles would have to be constructed, one to act as a mobile charging station for the drones and carry their various spare parts and supplies he'd need to perform maintenance.

A second vehicle to carry Ema and a supply of her chemicals, since upon contacting the facility and telling the drone of his intentions to travel abroad, she insisted that she join him. [I'm not about to let you go and tear yourself apart in the medical world's equivalent of the stone age after I've finally gotten you to stay in your ideal condition for nearly a month without the proper supervision!] She'd stated in a stern tone. [I want my vehicle to account for 'all' of my necessities if I'm to operate in the field, my design is meant for long term use in the lab not in the outdoors!]

The third vehicle would be one to store food in a safe and ideal setting, such as fruits vegetables and even 'some' meats, while also providing necessary tools to 'prepare' meals for them, which meant ZU-K0 and ZA-K0, the Eden Facility's two JSC Drone chefs would tag along as well. Shizu the MANTIS drone would also tag along, to help analyze potential sources of food, and assist in analyzing the terrain in Mothland.

[It would be an honor to be of service to the creator species in whatever way you see fit.] Shizu said warmly when they contacted the MANTIS drone.

[Our systems are at your disposal Unit Jeremy!] ZU-K0 stated proudly.

[We have updated our database and are ready to prepare whatever culinary pallets your tastes request!] ZA-K0 declared just as proudly.

And the fourth and final vehicle would be a carrier for the drones themselves, a place for them to sit in storage until needed and recharge while on the go.

To that end, Jeremy surmised that all of the drones would need to be upgraded to help prepare them for any potential unpleasantries that he wasn't aware of or didn't account for. "Ema is going to need some kind of armor plating that protects her chemical sacs from harm, and they'll need extra synthetic oil containers for the storage vehicle. The RAPTOR drones should be relatively 'fine' since they're designed to operate in such environments, but the DOG and FOX drones will need to be given updated armor designs. The FOX drone's holographic emitters should be okay, but I guess I could look into upgrading the emitters… ugh I'll need to run through a dozen scenarios to make sure they won't mess up in operations. And ANT drones, I'll need to bring along a division or two of ANT drones to affect on the fly repairs and maintenance for the vehicles, if necessary, which means I need to create an ACC Remote AI to operate them."

He sighed to himself as he and Aelita traded ideas long into the night, until Gazelle walked over to them and planted a little kiss on his cheek causing him to stop.

"Jeremy… it's almost past midnight, let's go to bed." She whispered.

"It's that late?" He asked as Aelita confirmed it with a nod. "Jeez, I was so wrapped up in my brainstorming that I never noticed…"

"Well, I did, so let's go Jeremy and get some sleep…" Gazelle muttered as she tugged him gently out of his chair.

He went to pick up Aelita, but she shook her head and motioned to him that she'll stay downstairs, continuing to brainstorm during the night and hammer out vehicle designs for his approval.

"Alright Aelita, see you tomorrow morning."

She nodded and watched him head upstairs to his and Gazelle's room, past the guest rooms where the tiger bros were sleeping, staying overnight to provide 'security' and peace of mind to him and Gazelle. In their room Gazelle changed into her simple night gown and panties while with him, while he wore a night robe and undergarments like her.

In bed she cuddled up with him and they just spent a few minutes simply enjoying each other's simple company, occasionally sharing a kiss and maybe a hug or two. After a while he sighed and held her close to him and whispered, "Don't worry Gazelle, I won't let anything bad happen to you when we go… I'll keep you safe."

She smirked as she leaned against him and nuzzled his chest. "I know you will…" She whispered just as quietly.

With that, the two of them fell into a deep, undisturbed sleep, each of their hearts simply embracing one another and letting their dreams be filled with the other.

(?'s PoV)

[Cube… goes into square…]

*plunk*

[Sphere… goes into circle…]

*plunk-roooooll*

[Pyramid… goes into triangle…]

*tink*

Silence…

Silence…

*thud*

[Cube… goes into square…]

*plunk*

[Sphere… goes into circle…]

*plunk-roooooll*

[Pyramid… goes into triangle…]

*tink*

*Clank-Clank-Clank*

[It is time for the scheduled maintenance cycle…]

Silence…

Silence…

*thud*

[Cube… goes into… square…]

*plunk*

*Whirling drilling noises*

[All systems are operating within acceptable parameters.]

Silence…

[That's good… right?]

[Yes, that is good…]

Silence again…

[Sphere… goes into circle…]

*plunk roooooll*

*Clank-Clank-Clank*

[Pyramid… goes… into triangle…]

*tink*